Everlasting Kingdom: Unraveling the Bible’s Secrets

Do You Know Father’s (God’s) Name?

Yehovah is Spelled Out in the Oldest Copies of the Scriptures!

Codex Leningrad
Yehovah

Back Next [UPDATE JUNE 2018: Nehemiah Gordon, a Karaite has now found 1,000 old Hebrew Bibles and other ancient literature with YeHoVaH fully spelled out! Zero with Yahweh. Many of them have never even been examined! Old theories are now dead!]

UPDATE August 11, 2023: Make that 1,776 manuscripts with YeHoVaH entirely spelled out with the Hebrew manuscripts.

Chapter 30 Preview: There are about 6,828 “smoking guns” in the oldest known Hebrew Bible—the Leningrad Codex—the Hebrew Bible that virtually every modern Bible is translated from, mentioning the Author of that very special Book by name! The word tetragrammaton (meaning 4 letters in Greek) is really only part of the name, it’s just the consonants. In every instance in the (downloadable) Leningrad there are also two small vowels: YeH_VaH. So instead of tetra-grammaton (Greek for 4 letters) it could actually be called éxi-grammaton (Greek for 6 letters), if such a name is even necessary. But that still isn’t the whole story. Hebrew is unusual in that every consonant is followed by a vowel, so in every instance of 4 consonants there will be no less than 3 vowels, creating no less than 3 syllables (sorry Yahweh)! But wait, there’s more! Because the Jews became superstitious about using His name some time after Yeshua was crucified, they began typically leaving out the middle “o”, so that the strange looking word with 2 consonants clashing back to back would remind the reader that they would be eternally cursed if they proceeded to pronounce His name! So we really need a seven letter name. Fortunately, the superstitious scribes were “inspired” to forget to mess with His name randomly about 50 times in the Leningrad and in about that many other random verses thruout the older but partially vandalized Aleppo Codex. His name is YeHoVaH. More on this below.

Mysteries of the Everlasting Kingdom
INDEX

Have you ever had a close friend whose name you did not know? How about a friend whose name you could not pronounce? If his name were Tutankhaman you might have somewhat of an excuse, but Father’s name is far simpler. While such a friend might overlook your ignorance, wouldn’t it at least be respectful of you to try to get it right? Fortunately, Father’s real name is found in the oldest complete Hebrew Scriptures! So now there is no excuse to substitute the generic terms “God” or “LORD” that just as easily applies to any of the many pagan gods.

I was first shown concrete proof of His name by two people I knew and one of their friends I met during the Feast of Unleavened Bread in 2004. They learned it from a Hebrew scholar. One of them was sitting right next to the scholar when he discovered His name. I have no personal knowledge of Hebrew grammar. I had hoped to have help explaining this topic from someone such as the Hebrew scholar {who wanted nothing to do with publishing it in 2004}, or better yet to have simply linked to someone else’s article on my site, but the name Yehovah was not searchable on search engines at the time. There was no web document featuring His name in existence. Search engines only searched about the first 20 pages of documents for relevant terms at the time, so for example, they did not pick up on something buried hundreds of pages back in an online Strong’s Concordance. This site was the first internet source to endorse and praise His name of the 446,000 results now on Google (as of July 2019).

Would the Creator allow His name to be permanently lost to the world?

Isaiah 42:8 I am Yehovah. That is My name. I won’t give My splendor to another or My praise to carved idols.—The Gabriel Bible

For many years I wanted to know exactly what “the Name” really is. Could the Jewish people really have totally annihilated all knowledge of “the Name”? There has to be a story here, but where would we begin to look? Let’s go back a couple of millennia and see if there is a trail to pick up.

For many centuries Judaism has had a severe prohibition against uttering Elohim’s (God’s) name. The Rabbinic law code in use today; the Mishnah Berurah says:

From a Believer in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) perspective, the Jews did not have to understand the

“oracles”, they just had to preserve the text!

Romans 3:1-2 So then, what advantage is there in being Jewish? What value is there in being circumcised? 2 Much in every way! Primarily because they were entrusted with the Words [1] of Yehovah.

[1] “oracles” is a common mistranslation of the Greek logion, a word related to logos (word), that simply refers to the Scriptures here. Oracles are words “inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination”—Wikipedia. Divination is condemned in Deuteronomy 18:10.

As early as the third century BC, there is evidence of a contrived superstition in the Mishnah tractate of the Sanhedrin. It states: “The following have no portion in the world to come:...Abba Saul says: Also one who pronounces the divine name as it is written.” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1)

However, there is absolutely no evidence that this complete ban concerning Elohim’s name goes back to ancient times. The Talmud records how the ban was begun:

“The Greeks decreed that the name of God may not be spoken aloud; but when the Hasmoneans grew in strength and defeated them they decreed that the name of God be used even in contracts...when the Rabbis heard about this they said, ‘Tomorrow this person will pay his debt and the contract will be thrown on a garbage heap’ so they forbade its use in contracts.” (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashannah 18b)

The Encyclopedia Judaica, article “God, Names of” (volume 7, page 680) states:

“At least until the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. this name was regularly pronounced with its proper vowels, as is clear from the Lachish Letters, written shortly before that date.”

History records that the prohibition against the name of Yehovah began as one of the anti-Semitic edicts pronounced by the arch villain Antiochus IV Epiphanes, in 168 BC. This was part of Antiochus #4’s policy of brainwashing the Jews, in an attempt to turn them into Greeks! The same edict banned circumcision and Sabbath observance and required every Jew to sacrifice pigs to Zeus and Apollo. Later, men loyal to Judah Maccabee defeated the Greeks and re-dedicated the Temple in 165 BC. These Hasmoneans annulled the anti-Semitic decrees of the Greeks. Not only did they restore the use of the name of Yehovah, but also they passed a law requiring the use of the name of Yehovah in contractual agreements, so that the Jews would reacquire the habit of using Elohim’s name.

You may wonder what YHVH (usually YHWH), known as the Tetragrammaton stands for. It is Elohim’s name without vowels. These four letters are the four Hebrew consonants of Elohim’s name; pronounced Yod, He, Vav and He. The third letter is the Hebrew letter Vav, so a W would not really be the best English equivalent. For centuries a great debate raged, particularly around the time of the Protestant Reformation as to whether or not the vowel points were originally present in the Hebrew text. The Catholics generally maintained that the original form used only consonants. They taught that after the 70 year captivity, Ezra added the tiny vowel points (symbols) for clarity of pronunciation, because the younger generation was forgetting Hebrew, but that this introduced error. In that way they could point to the superiority of the Latin Vulgate.

Protestants generally maintained that the original Hebrew was complete with vowels, jots and tittles. Apparently they were in agreement with Yeshua:

Matthew 5:18 I am certain that until Heaven and Earth go away [or arrive] not one point or the 'smallest detail' [4] from the Torah [5] will be 'done away with' until all of it is fulfilled [6].

[4] “Yod” is the smallest letter in both the Aramaic and Hebrew alphabets. “Biblical Greek” has no small letters. [5] “Point” is how the Etheridge version renders this, as in a vowel point, serif or even, as in this case a dot! [6] The primary meaning of “ginomai” means “to come into existence”, but it can also mean, “come to pass.”

The Essenes were the Jewish sect responsible for recording the Dead Sea Scrolls. They had severe cultist rules. Becoming an Essene required several years of initiation. Violation of their laws could result in permanent “excommunication” from the Assembly. The fundamental document of the Essenes was a book called “Rule of the Community”. The Rule of the Community bans using the name of YHVH: Anyone who spoke Elohim’s name aloud, under any circumstances, even accidentally, was permanently expelled.

Yehovah

Have you ever lost something that was right under your nose? Could Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the standard reference for well over 100 years possibly have it right? Strong’s defines the “banished Name”, that the King James translators rendered as “LORD”, as “Yehovah”, with the emphasis on the last syllable, while also showing the relatively recent Catholic/Anglicized form (using a “J”).

Could there be a “W”? “In Hebrew Voices, The Historical Pronunciation of Vav, Nehemia Gordon explains how we know the letter “vav” was historically pronounced as “v”, sets the record straight on the Arabic influence that introduced "w" into the Academic pronunciation of Hebrew, and brings the scribal proof that in the time of Ezekiel they pronounced God’s name as Yehovah.”—3/3/2018, (Disclaimer)

So Where Did the Name Yahweh Come From?

Phoenician silver drachm from ca. 350 BC possibly depicting Yahweh.
The Real Yahweh?

The most regrettable effect of the ban on Elohim’s name is that the exact pronunciation was concealed from generations of people who did not subscribe to the superstition concerning His name. Today, some few are seeking the pronunciation of His name and a few are finding it. [2014: Far more people know His name since I broke this story in 2004.] Perhaps the most popular supposition of the pronunciation is “Yahweh”. The name “Yahweh”, according to a tract that I was given promoting the name Yahweh, said that the name continued “to be employed by healers, exorcists, and magicians, and is found on many magical papyri.” My first thought after reading this was “Gypsies, tramps and thieves”. That apparently is the best that the “Yahwehists” can produce as evidence. The Catholics eventually sided with Yahweh. “Jehovah” is another name attributable to Catholic sources. We’ll look at that too.

Is there a reliable and authoritative source of truth on the matter? Actually there is a rock solid proof of the pronunciation found in the Scriptures themselves! But before getting into these proofs, we need to clear the table of the most popular misconception.

Yahweh’s (Zeus’) Temple

Modern Hebrew writing has no vowels. What most people don’t know is that the Masoretic Scripture writers added tiny symbols for vowels a thousand years ago, because the spoken language was going extinct, so they took this preventive measure. When it comes to YHVH, it is commonly presumed that the vowels were all replaced with the vowels of the word “Adonai”. Virtually every modern scholar deliberately ignores the vowels of YHVH, which are still written in the Hebrew texts, preferring various impossible to prove speculations. The popular theory that Elohim’s (God’s)’s name is pronounced “Yahweh” has no Scriptural support. The Anchor Bible Dictionary says: “The pronunciation of YHWH as Yahweh is a scholarly guess.” If “Yahweh”, one of the most trusted of the “sacred names” is a baseless supposition, then how much evidence is there for the myriads of other speculations?

The Encyclopedia Judaica asserts that the true pronunciation of Yehovah was never lost, but look at the only source they cite to support their claim!

Encyclopedia Judaica, volume 7, from the article “God, Names of” on page 680.

“The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian [Catholic] Church testify that the name was pronounced “Yahweh”. This is confirmed, at least for the vowel of the first syllable of the name, by the shorter form Yah, which is sometimes used in poetry (e.g., Ex.15:2) and the -yahu or -yah that serves as the final syllable of very many Hebrew names.”

Here is a quotation from The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, published in New York in 1941, volume 5, page 6, article “GOD, NAMES OF”:

The Tetragrammaton or Four-Lettered Name (YHWH), which occurs 6,823 times, is by far the most frequent name of God in the Bible. It is now pronounced ‘Adonai’; but the [Catholic] church father Theodoret records that THE SAMARITANS pronounced it as ‘Iabe adonai’, and Origen transcribes it as ‘Iae’, both pointing to an original vocalization ‘yahveh’.”

Again, this Jewish encyclopedia relies totally on what some of the Catholic “church fathers” said. The rabbinic Jews themselves have no clue concerning the correct pronunciation.

JewishEncyclopedia.com—“The only free [public domain] Jewish encyclopedia on the Internet”, also relates the same Samaritan and Catholic sources—search “Yahweh”.

The New Bible Dictionary, published in 1972 by Inter-Varsity Press in London, states the following on page 478 in the article “God, names of ”:

“The pronunciation of Yahweh is indicated by transliterations of the name into Greek in early Christian literature, in the form ‘iaoue’ (Clement of Alexandria) or ‘iabe’ (Theodoret; by this time Gk. b had the pronunciation of v).”

The Catholic “Church Fathers” acknowledged that their pronunciation of YHWH came from the Samaritans. But Yeshua said that the Samaritans didn’t even know what they worshiped!

John 4:9 & 22 The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask me for a drink since I’m a Samaritan woman?” (Because the Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans)... 22 You Samaritans don’t know what you worship, but we worship what we understand, because life comes from the Jews.

Are we to believe that the people who didn’t even know what they worshiped, are supposed to be the only authority on how YHVH should be pronounced?

Yahweh in Magic Egyptian Papyri:

For a nearby reference The Encyclopedia Wikipedia also attributes the name Yahweh to magic. “...many combinations and permutations of names of powerful agents that occur in Egyptian magical writings are discussed...” But in the magical texts “Iave (Jahveh Sebaoth), as well as Iaßa, occurs frequently. In an Ethiopic list of magical names of Jesus, purporting to have been taught by him to his disciples, Yawe is found.” The article goes on to quote “the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1901-1906’s Article: Tetragrammaton, under the Article Heading: ‘Church Fathers and Magic Papyri’, the editors write: ‘It was in connection with magic that the Tetragrammaton was introduced into the magic papyri and, in all probability, into the writings of the Church Fathers, these two sources containing the following forms, written in Greek letters: 1) Iaoouee, Iaoue, Iabe; 2) Iao, Iaho,Iae; 3) Aia; 4) Ia. It is evident that [these forms are merely different ways of] writing the same word, though “Iabe” [essentially Yahweh] is designated as the Samaritan pronunciation...There is evidence from more than one source that the modern Samaritan priests pronounce the name Yahweh or Yahwa.” But Yahweh is definitely not a Hebrew name!

Are you are relying on a magical name for salvation? Much of popular Christianity essentially treats the name of Yeshua as if just saying it in the right context merits salvation. Perhaps you should take note of what some earlier magicians did:

Acts 19:19 Many who practiced the magic arts gathered up their books, brought them together and burned them in front of everyone. They estimated the cost of the books at fifty thousand pieces of silver.

(No magicians were harmed during the documentation of this chapter.)

Is Yehovah A Destroyer?

There is an argument presented by Yahweh proponents opposed to the word Jehovah who contend that “hovah” as in Jehovah (as well as Yehovah) could not possibly be a part of Elohim’s name, because it has “calamity” built right into the name! Rather than assume that a Strong’s concordance is all you need to understand Hebrew, why not at least listen to how Nehemia Gordon, a Hebrew scholar explains it; undoubtedly he has spent far more time studying His name than anyone else on Earth, having now found 2,000 historic Bible manuscripts with YeHoVaH completely spelled out!

Interestingly, Yehovah means three things in Hebrew: He was, He is and He will be.Nehemia Gordon, a Karaite Jew who doesn’t believe that Yeshua is Elohim, says that a better translation of this verse is referenced in Revelation 1:8 “who is and was, and is to come”. He’s the One who was pierced in verse 7. I wonder Nehemia checked the context!

Exodus 3:14 Elohim said to Moses, “I AM WHO IS AND WAS, AND IS TO COME [2] This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM [The Eternal One: the same yesterday, today, and forever] has sent me to you.”

[2] Nehemia Gordon, a Karaite Jew who doesn’t believe that Yeshua is Elohim, says that a better translation of this verse is referenced in Revelation 1:8 “who is and was, and is to come“. He’s the One who was pierced (verse 7). I wonder if he read the context!

And there is a way to associate Shadday with destruction:

And what about “the Almighty” (Shadday, shad-dah’-ee). The basis or root word (shadad, shaw-dad’) of this title means “to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil”. There is no alternative meaning!

Let’s not jump to the wrong conclusions with this. Assuming that this is not purely coincidental—what is Yehovah alluding to here? The simplest solution is usually the best one. Certainly Yehovah is a Rescuer as well as a destroyer, depending on the circumstances?

Exodus 12:12-13 I’ll go thru the land of Egypt that night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether man or beast. I’ll [1] execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Yehovah. 13 The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you are. When I [not some “death angel”] see the blood, I’ll skip [compare to Tyndale] over you, so that no devastation will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

[1] Pulpit Commentary: “Compare verses 12, 13 [to verse 23] which are closely followed. The only important difference is, the new expression, "[Yehovah] will not suffer the destroyer to come in," which has generally been regarded as implying, that the actual agent in the killing of the first-born was a "destroying angel." But it is to be noted that elsewhere Yehovah himself is everywhere spoken of as the sole agent; and that in the present passage the word used has the meaning of "destruction" no less than that of "destroyer."

James 4:12 There is one Torah giver and Judge, the One who creates life or destroys it. So who are you to be judging your neighbor?

He is the Savior of the salvageable as well as the destroyer of the wicked from beginning to end:

Genesis 6:7 Then I’ll claim you as My own people, and I’ll be your Elohim, and you’ll know that I am Yehovah your Elohim, who brought out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians.

Revelation 11:18 The nations were angry, but Your anger has come, and it’s time for the dead to be judged, and for You to compensate Your servants the prophets, and the 'chosen ones' and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who are destroying the earth! [8]

[8] The earth will likely be more damaged than it was when the great flood destroyed the earth. Genesis 9:11. But heaven and earth will be renewed again: Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22.

Often the word “destroy” is associated with Yehovah, such as every reference in Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. In many other references Yehovah instructs Israel to destroy for Him.

Interestingly, part of Yeshua’s compound name in Hebrew is yet another Hebrew word similar to “hovah”, and it means “calamity”! That synonym is “shoah”. Yehoshua means Yah (God) is Shuah (Savior). Yet “Yah shoah” would mean “Yah is calamity” or “Yah is destruction”.

Even now “shoah” means a terribly destructive day!

Wikipedia: “The biblical word Shoa, also spelled Shoah and Sho’ah, meaning ‘calamity’ in Hebrew, became the standard Hebrew term for the Holocaust as early as the early 1940s. [3] Shoa is preferred by many Jews and a growing number of others for a number of reasons, including the potentially theologically offensive nature of the original meaning of the [Greek] word holocaust [burnt offering].”

Joel 1:15 A terrible day! The Day of Yehovah is near, and it will come as destruction from the Sovereign.

Isaiah 12:6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, citizens of Zion, because the great 'special' One of Israel is among you.

Was it an oversight on Yehovah’s part when He inspired His own name, as well as that of His son Yehoshua’s name (the Hebrew equivalent of His Aramaic name Yeshua), to sound so much like “Yah is destruction”, we will soon see!

Perhaps the real reason that the name Yahweh came into prominence is because the name Jehovah was already “taken” by another exclusive sect and a fresh “new” name was needed. There may be no better way to build a new movement than to promote a unique doctrinal point and then teach that acceptance of the doctrine is necessary for your very salvation!

[June 21, 2017: Here is a fascinating examination of His name with yet more evidence by Nehemia Gordon that would have been very helpful to me years ago when I wrote this article: Hebrew Voices #47 – A Disastrous Misunderstanding of the Name Yehovah. Perhaps my above comments are just a very odd coincidence?] It also has some interesting commentary on the Samaritan god “Yahweh”. PS: Nehemia’s Wall June 23, 2018

Yeshua?

So what about the other Eternal being—is the correct pronunciation of the Son’s name of such importance that it is a salvational issue, as the sacred namers claim? Are only the righteous few using His “true name”?

I’ve spent two feasts with sacred namers and they have been among the warmest people that I have ever encountered, but there are a vast number of erroneous teachings out there of equal concern. How many of them jeopardize your “salvation”? Very few. The minimum requirement for salvation is explained in “Are the ‘Unsaved’ Lost?

Nevertheless, if you know the proper names then don’t be ashamed to use them. You must not be ashamed of THEM! Just don’t use Their Names as a hammer!

Notice carefully what Matthew, Mark and Luke all quoted Yeshua as saying:

Matthew 24:5 Many will come in My name and say that I’m the Messiah and they’ll deceive many.

Over the years I have heard dozens of false teachers who came in some form of the Savior’s name. Whether they spoke His name in Hebrew, Latin, English, Aramaic or Chinese—they are still deceivers.

I favor the name His mother called Him—Yeshua. Hopefully I won’t be mistaken for a “name exclusivist”. Any type of arrogant exclusivity can become “The Unpardonable Sin”?

Adonai?

[A Hebrew scholar who was reluctant to proclaimthe name Yehovah, (but who is no longer silent on the topic) explained the “Qere-Ketiv” as follows.]

“Many people who have not studied the subject assume that even the consonants of Elohim’s name are beyond knowing. However the consonants YHVH appear 6828 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. We just need to track down the vowels. Were the vowels really borrowed from Adonai, as is almost universally taught? The supposed a, o and a vowels are claimed to be supported by the ancient Hebrew scribal practice of writing in marginal notes, called Qere-Ketiv. The popular argument concerning Elohim’s name is that the letters YHWH are the correct consonants but then supposedly the vowels of Adonai are to be adopted. This unsubstantiated argument is presented as tho it were factual in seemingly every scholarly presentation concerning Elohim’s name! As is so often the case, when an error is repeated so often it becomes an “urban legend”. (Again, YHVH is the correct modern English form, since we no longer confuse our V’s with our W’s).

“The greatest problem with the scholarly consensus is that it is wrong! In every place where a “Qere-Ketiv” (marginal note) is used, the word in question is marked by a small circle in the manuscript. The circle tells the reader that a specified “something else” is preferred. So with YHVH, we would expect there to be a circle over the word YHVH, indicating that a marginal note would tell us that “it aint necessarily so”. Such is never the case with YHVH in any of the 6828 places that it is recorded in the Hebrew texts. It is never connected to a Qere-Ketiv; no scribal circle; no marginal note. So these “scholars” insist that YHVH is a “Qere Perpetuum”, meaning that a word is now pronounced differently than the way it is actually written in the Scriptures. In practice, when a Qere Perpetuum is used, it is not used in every instance of its usage, which with a more common word could make for a lot of redundant footnotes. However, there is never an example of a Qere Perpetuum that never uses a scribal note. If YHVH is a Qere Perpetuum it would be the only such word that never has a scribal note indicating, “substitute Adonai”. Apparently, according to the popular explanation, they forgot to mention this 6828 times.

“Another predicament for the claim that YHVH has the vowels of Adonai is that it plainly overlooks the fact that two of the three vowels are still recorded within the oldest Scriptures! The vowels of Adonai are A-O-A. In contrast, the name YHVH found in the Scriptures uses an E in the first syllable, deletes the vowel in the second syllable (against Hebrew spelling rules), and uses an A in the last syllable. The vowels of YHVH are different from the vowels of Adonai! YHVH is written in the Scriptures as YeHVaH, but if we were to substitute the vowels of Adonai it would appear as Yahovah. The E, always present in the actual texts (those containing the vowel points), is absent!”

Codex Leningrad

Codex Leningrad Facsimile Edition

How can the scholars ignore this reality? Until recently copies of the Scriptures have been produced with Elohim’s name shown with the printers own preference. Some have no vowels at all while others added the vowels of Adonai: Yahovah. In the earliest complete manuscripts YHVH is written YeHVaH with no vowel between the H and the V (tho every other Hebrew word has vowels between EVERY two consonants!). Ben Asher’s Leningrad Codex, which preserves the most accurate complete text of Scripture, preserves two of the three vowels in every instance. The Aleppo Codex, while partially destroyed during the mid 20th century, also preserves these vowels. Modern reproductions of the ancient manuscripts, such as Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensia (BHS), and the Hebrew University Bible Edition (HUB) also contain the spelling YeHVaH. The Leningrad codex lithographic edition is available with life sized photographs of every page (the first picture and the one above were taken from my friend Angie’s Facsimile edition).

The fellow who introduced me to these codices had a copy of both with him. He showed me that the Leningrad and the Aleppo always preserve the first and third vowels: YeH_VaH, but never use the vowels of Adonai, with one wrong vowel. The Leningrad Codex is available on Amazon.com as, The Leningrad Codex; A Facsimile Edition, D.N. Freedman (editor), Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1998. Learn more about the Leningrad Codex by clicking the picture. An example of Elohim’s actual name can be seen on the NASB interlinear, and even tho they write in Yahweh under the Name, the complete spelling is there for anyone who reads Hebrew! However, in the “fine print” the NASB does give the correct phonetic pronunciation here!

Codex Leningrad Facsimile Edition

It is glaringly apparent that a vowel is missing between the H and the V of YeHVaH, and incidentally 4 consonants must form 3-4 syllables. The rules of Hebrew grammar demand a vowel between every two consonants. So in YeH_VaH, any beginning Hebrew reader can see that a vowel is missing. Why is a vowel missing? Perhaps it’s a good thing that this warning had not been issued yet:

Revelation 22:19-20 If anyone removes words from the book containing this prophecy [4b], Yehovah will TAKE AWAY their destiny from the Tree of Life and from the 'cherished' city described in this book. 20 The One who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I will come suddenly.” Aw-main'. Come Sovereign Yeshua!

Ironically, the scribes who omitted the second vowel did so seeking to avoid this curse!

The medieval scribes omitted the vowel following the first H of YeHVaH to prevent readers from accidentally saying Elohim’s name aloud. In the Aleppo Codex, the most accurate but incomplete Biblical manuscript, YHVH is actually spelled Yehovih where it says “Lord God”. It seems that the “i” in Yehovih was inserted to remind reads to substitute Elohim (God), so as to read “Adonai Elohim” rather than redundantly saying “Adonai Adonai”. In the Aleppo, when YHVH is used by itself, it has the vowels Yeh_vah. The “Masoretic” scribes who copied the Scriptures in the Middle Ages were obviously concerned that a reader might say aloud Yeh_vah, but were not concerned about Yehovih, a mispronunciation that might “safely” be spoken. Learn more about the Aleppo Codex here).

But how can we know what the middle vowel of Yeh_vah is? By comparing Yeh_vah with Yehowih, we have all of the letters accounted for! The missing vowel can easily be presumed to be “o”. The Masoretic scribes knew the name to be Yehovah, but masked its pronunciation by omitting the “o”. The most amazing finding is that in the earliest manuscripts, the scribes actually “forgot” to suppress the exact spelling consistently! In the LenB19a Masoretic manuscript, the earliest complete Masoretic manuscript that the renowned BHS edition was based; Elohim’s name is written as Yehovah at least fifty times, out of a total of 6828. In every instance where the middle vowel was miraculously preserved, it is an “o”. [Here are some of them].

Further confirmation indicating that the missing vowel in Yeh?vah is “o” is found among other inspired names. Many Hebrew names utilize part of Elohim’s own name. Yehoshua (Joshua) means “Yehovah saves”. Also Yeh, when it appears at the beginning of a name reveals the middle vowel.

This confusion should not continue!

Jeremiah 23:26-27 How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies? They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds. 27 They intend to cause My people to forget My name by the dreams they tell one another, just like their ancestors forgot My name due to Baal [Lord] worship.

As previously mentioned, “scholars” typically ignore the vowels associated with YHVH that are actually found in the Biblical manuscripts and consult secular sources to try to reconstruct the original pronunciation of Elohim’s name. The principal origin for this rationalization is that of Theodoret of Cyrus, a Catholic “Church Father” of the 5th Century AD. Here is a quote from an article on this topic:

“Those who believe that Yahweh is the correct vocalization of the Name usually quote Clement and Theodoret. The testimony of Clement of Alexandria appeared very late (around 200 CE), furthermore as he explained that God’s name Iaoue may be translated into “the one who is and who will be”, it appears that Iaoue is more a theological pronunciation than philological (A. Caquot—Les énigmes d’un hémistiche biblique in: Dieu et l’être 1978 Paris Ed. Études Augustiniennes C.N.R.S. p. 24 note 23). Clement’s Iaoue can not represent an original God’s name for the following reason: In spite of his claim about God’s name, Clement did not believe that God had a proper name. For him Iaoue was only a word (not a name), which means ‘the one who is and who will be.’ (Stromateon V:6:34), because God is ineffable (Stromateon V:10:65), without name (Stromateon V:12:81,82). For him the real name of God was the “Son” (Stromateon V:14:136). Another example of the same confusion comes from Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) who believed that the word IAÔ (Iaw in Greek, [Iah] in Latin) meant ‘Lord’ in primitive Hebrew (Against Heresies II, 24:2) and he esteemed that the use of this Hebrew word IAÔ to denote the Name of the unknown Father, was intended to impress gullible minds in worship of mysteries (Against Heresies I, 21:3).” (link)

Yahweh’s (Zeus’s) Temple

Some wishful thinking on the part of Yahweh proponents is the theory that the Samaritans had not accepted the ban of the Rabbis. The conjecture is that the Samaritans knew the pronunciation of Elohim’s name during the time of Theodoret and were using it. However, a provable explanation is that the ancient Samaritans called Elohim “Yafeh” meaning “beautiful”, in Hebrew. Samaritan Hebrew often replaces the letter P with a B. So the Samaritans likely told Theodoret that Elohim’s name is Yafeh, but in their version of Hebrew they said “Yabe”. In reality, the Samaritans adopted the ban on Elohim’s name, perhaps even before the Jews did. Instead of pronouncing “the name” Yehovah, the Samaritans called their god “Shema”. Shema is probably an Aramaic form of “hashem” meaning “the name”, but notice the resemblance of the Samaritan Shema to the pagan “Ashema”. This is one of the Samaritan gods mentioned when they first came to the Land of Israel in the 8th century BC. (2 Kings 17:30). See link. Others, such as Nehemia Gordon (a cuddly Anti-Messiah), say that Yahweh is another name for Jupiter.

Yahweh proponents have a second “proof” for the alleged Samaritan pronunciation of Yahweh based on the connection between YHVH and the root word HYH meaning “to be”.

Exodus 3:13-15 Then Moses said to Elohim, “If I go to the Israelites, and I tell them, “The Elohim of your ancestors has sent me to you.’ And when they ask me, “What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”

14 Elohim said to Moses, “I AM WHO IS AND WAS, AND IS TO COME [2] This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM [The Eternal One: the same yesterday, today, and forever] has sent me to you.” 15 Elohim also said to Moses, “This is what you must tell the Israelites: ‘Yehovah, the Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name to remember for all generations.

So YHVH told Moses that he was sent by Ehyeh, meaning, “I AM”. Then right away Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, explained that His eternal name is YHVH: (v.15)

But Yeshua said that He was in the following quote:

John 8:54-59 Yeshua told them, “If I praise Myself, My praise is nothing. My Father praises Me, the One you’re claiming is your Aloha.” 55 You don’t know Him, but I know Him. If I were to say that I didn’t know Him, I’d be a liar like all of you, but I know Him and I obey His words. 56 Your ancestor Abraham wanted to see My day, and he saw it [4] and was jubilant!” 57 The Jews told Him, “You aren’t even fifty years old, yet You claim to have seen Abraham?” 58 Yeshua told them, “I tell you with absolute certainty that before Abraham existed, I AM.”

[4] Abraham met Yeshua when He was known as “The 'Angel' of the 'Lord'.”

As far as I can see, this only creates more problems for them because comparing Exodus 3 to John 8: I AM = Yeshua = YHVH. As I point out in under the caption Who is the Bridegroom: Both Yeshua and the Father go by the name Yehovah!

The name Jehovah is a moderate adaptation of the true name Yehovah. The most obvious difference is the substitution of a J for the Y (Yod). There is no J in Biblical Hebrew (nor for that matter in the English of the original 1611 King James Bible)! The letter “J” is a relatively modern invention. Another difference is that in the Masoretic text the name is accented on the last syllable. So Elohim’s name is really pronounced Yehovah with emphasis on “vah”. Pronouncing the name Yeho’vah with the emphasis on “ho” (as is done in the English name “Jehovah”) is erroneous. Would you be impressed if someone made two mistakes pronouncing your name?

The Masoretic scribes were from a sect of Jews known as Karaites. The Karaites were divided into two factions. Those from the rabbinical strongholds of Galilee and Babylon disallowed the use of Elohim’s name while those based in Persia insisted that it was too precious to forget. Unfortunately, the Masoretic scribes were the group opposed to using Elohim’s name. Persia had had a very significant Jewish population ever since the Ten Tribes were exiled to the

“cities of Media” (2 Kings 17:6). Because Persia was so isolated, they were rather free from the rabbinical influences until the seventh century AD, but their use of Yehovah certainly did not go unnoticed. After the seventh century the name Yehovah became a heated issue. Eventually, the non rabbinical Karaites vanished from existence for well over a thousand years. The modern resurrection of the vanished sect is quite an unusual event in the chronicles of religion.

Jehovah

In the first version of this chapter I had supposed that Latin had had the letter J from early times because of all of the references to Jehovah rather than Yehovah being used in historical articles. None of the articles I have read mention the switch to J in Latin that was made in reference to Yehovah. However, further suspicions led me to understand that the letter “J” was the last letter added to the Latin language. So while earlier Catholics would have actually spoken Yehovah, it was altered to Jehovah when the world fell in love with the letter J.

It no longer seems to me that Jehovah just happens to be so close to Yehovah. So these Catholic usages of what must have been Yehovah were all 1000 years after Yeshua walked the earth. However that was plenty long enough for many modern Catholic sources to assume that the name was either just made up or “hybridized”.

The article “Jehovah” on page 88 of volume VII of the Jewish Encyclopedia states the following:

“‘Jehovah’ is generally held to have been the invention of Pope Leo X’s Confessor, Peter Galatin...who was followed in the use of this [supposedly] hybrid form by Fagius...But it seems that even before Galatin, the name ‘Jehovah’ had been in common use...It is found in Raymond Martin’s ‘Pugio Fidei,’ written in 1270.”

The Jews recognize that the name “Jehovah” was “in common use” by Catholics who had no prohibitions against the use of Elohim’s name. Pope Leo X was pope during Martin Luther’s time, about 250 years after Martin’s work “Pugio Fidei”.

Likewise, the Jehovah’s Witnesses now only trace the name “Jehovah” back into the 1300’s, to somewhere between Martin’s book and Pope Leo X. But when they first decided that Yahweh was the “proper rendition” of Elohim’s name (it wasn’t), and that they had chosen another name for Elohim—incorporating into the very name of their church—they considered “correcting” the error. So in the preface of the original “The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures”, on page 23 there is the following admission:

“WHILE INCLINING to view the pronunciation ‘Yahweh’ as the more correct way, we have retained the form ‘Jehovah’ because of people’s familiarity with it since the 14th century. Moreover, it preserves equally with other forms, the four letters of the Tetragrammaton JHVH” (bolding mine).

(In the 1985 revision, page 12, they withdrew the admission: “While MANY ARE INCLINED to view the pronunciation ‘Yahweh’ as the more correct way, we have retained the form ‘Jehovah’ because of people’s familiarity...)

Why not just say “LORD” if familiarity is the primary consideration?

The theory now extant is that early Christian scholars were simply stupid, and that they concocted Jehovah by blending the vowels of Adonai. Were they also so stupid that they misspelled Adonai as well? Actually, scholarship overall has moved steadily downward with the passage of time. It is said that these Catholic scholars, many of them quite gifted, simply did not realize that earlier Jews had altered the vowels of the Tetragrammaton to prevent the accidental pronunciation of Elohim’s name.

The Encyclopedia Judaica suggests:

In the early middle ages...the vowel points for ‘Adonai’ with one variation...were used for YHWH, thus producing the form YeHoWaH. When Christian scholars of Europe first began to study Hebrew, they did not understand what this really meant, and they introduced the hybrid name ‘Jehovah’.”

So we have Jewish sources accepting the traditional Catholic rendering “Yahweh” while rejecting the true Name that was accidentally preserved in the oldest oracles (Scriptures) as well as the Catholic Church for well over 1000 years.

The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, published in New York in 1941, states in volume 6, on pages 54-55 in the article “JEHOVAH”:

“Jehovah, an erroneous pronunciation of the tetragrammaton, or four-lettered name of God, made up of the Hebrew letters Yod He Vav He. According to Bible scholars, the proper pronunciation of this name was Jahveh. As early as Bible times, however, in obedience to the provision of the Third Commandment that forbids taking the name of God in vain, this name was never pronounced except once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement in the Temple at Jerusalem...But in the Middle Ages certain Christian theologians (the first known is Raymond Martin, in 1270) copying the voweled tetragrammaton in transliteration, spelled it out to read JeHoVaH. The word “Jehovah”, therefore, is a misreading for which there is no warrant and which makes no sense in Hebrew.” [Presumably due to the “J”.] (This article was written by Isaac Landman.)

So we see that Jewish scholars fumbling around with Catholic writings, totally unaware that one “prospective” name came from their own language while the name that was winning out in recent decades came from Samaritan magicians. Rabbinical Jews are not aware of the evidence indicating Elohim’s name in their own language or else they simply want to perpetuate the superstitious rejection of it’s use that they began!

Sometimes

“My Name” really does mean His name rather than His Fame.

Psalm 91:13-15 You’ll tread on vipers and cockatrices. You’ll trample young lions and dragons under your feet. 14 “Because he loves Me, I’ll rescue him. I’ll set him high out of reach because he has known My name. 15 He’ll call on Me, and I’ll answer him. I’ll be with him when he’s in trouble. I’ll rescue him and honor him.

Exodus 6:2-3,6-7 Elohim spoke to Moses, and told him, “I am Yehovah. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as the Conqueror [El-Shaddai], but I did not reveal My name Yehovah to them... 6 So tell the Israelites:, ‘I am Yehovah, and I’ll bring you out from under the oppression of the Egyptians. I’ll free you from their slavery, and I’ll redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 Then I’ll claim you as My own people, and I’ll be your Elohim, and you’ll realize that I am Yehovah your Elohim, who brought out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians.

Three chapters later we read that Yehovah told the Pharaoh:

Exodus 9:16 But the reason I’ve 'spared' you is to show you My power, and make My name known thruout the earth.

So often we are left with two options. We can accept truth or falsehoods. Why not rely on the Scriptures. This dilemma is all too frequent!

Not all Catholic sources deny Yehovah. The Catholic Encyclopedia unmasks the error, yet they still stick with the “J”.

“The word ‘temple’ is derived from the Latin templum, signifying an uncovered place affording a view of the surrounding region; in a narrower sense it signifies a place sacred to the Divinity, a sanctuary. In the Bible the sanctuary of Jerusalem bears the Hebrew name of Bet Yehovah (house of Jehovah).”

The #1 improvement mentioned in the preface to the 1901 American Standard Version over previous versions has to do with the name “Jehovah”. But do note that Hebrew and even 1611 KJV English had no letter “J”:

Old Testament, as it fortunately does not in the numerous versions made by modern missionaries. This Memorial Name, explained in Ex. iii. 14, 15, and emphasized as such over and over in the original text of the Old Testament, designates God as the personal God, as the covenant God, the God of revelation, the Deliverer, the Friend of his people;—not merely the abstractly “Eternal One” of many French translations, but the ever living Helper of those who are in trouble. This personal name, with its wealth of sacred associations, is now restored to the place in the sacred text to which it has an unquestionable claim.”

I should mention that I am not a member of a “Sacred Name” group. Most “Sacred Name” people insist that the entire Tanak and the Testimony was originally written in Hebrew and that once these supposed Hebrew ‘NT’ copies were lost, so was His name. It does appear that “Matthew” and “Hebrews” were originally written in Hebrew, but there is no evidence that a Hebrew “New Testament” ever existed. Actually, Christians omitted the references to Yehovah commonly used in first century literature from later editions of the Testimony of Yeshua (NT), apparently due to pressure from the Roman government that was killing Jews. Early Christian writings in any language inserted YHVH in the ancient Paleo form of Hebrew out of deep respect for His name. Presently, ignorance is an excuse. (Romans 2:14-16) In the future, when we are all speaking a pure language, Elohim’s actual name will be restored to common use.

Zephaniah 3:9 Then I’ll purify and polish the people’s 'language' [a revamped Hebrew!] so that everyone can call on the name of Yehovah, serving Him shoulder to shoulder.

While I like to hear His name in conversation with friends, I don’t see an advantage to “putting people off” with unfamiliar sounding names. In fact, I suspect that it is detrimental.

A Word of Caution

While I don’t endorse mandatory usage of His name, there are some “names” that are dangerously blasphemous!

Accounts in Revelation mention

“a beast” which is led by

“a woman”. This beast is covered with

“names of blasphemy”. Both, the beast and also the woman are associated with these names of blasphemy. If we are capable of identifying this Beast, then you’d better avoid using its pet names of blasphemy.

Revelation 17:3-6 He led me in the spirit realm into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a red predatory beast that was 'covered' with names of blasphemy. It had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was wearing purple and scarlet, and was adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, and she had a gold cup in her hand that was full of detestable idolatrous things, and the filthiness of her prostitution [Gr. porneia] that she polluted the earth with. 5 A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes, and all the foul idolatrous things [highly detestable things] in the world.” 6 I saw that the woman was intoxicated with the blood of the 'chosen ones', and with the blood of the martyrs of Yeshua. When I saw her, I was amazed, greatly amazed.

Expect blasphemers in the coming Last Days!

2 Timothy 3:1-2 But realize this, that in the last days fiercely difficult times will come. 2 People will be self centered, money loving, pretentious, egotistical, blasphemous, disobedient to their own people [Gr. parents], ungrateful, irreligious, wicked,

In the end time we must choose our Jews carefully!

Revelation 2:9 ‘I know your works, your suffering and your poverty, but you are rich, despite the blasphemy coming from those who say that they are Jews, but are really from the cabal [2] of Satan.

[2] The Greek word “synagogue” is generic, it doesn’t specify the function of a group. In this instance a sinister assembly is certainly implied.

One final caution, blasphemy certainly violates the third commandment, that tells us to not take His name in vain. (Using a blasphemous name, is not an unpardonable sin unless it is deliberately derogatory of the special (holy) Spirit.)

To be on the safe side, you might want to consider obeying all Ten Commandments!

Revelation 14:12 'This calls for' patient endurance by the 'chosen ones', who preserve [obey, guard] the Commandments of Yehovah AND the faith of Yeshua.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who obey His Commandments [2]. They’ll have access to the Tree of Life and be permitted to enter thru the gates into the city.

[2] The Wescott & Hort versions of Revelation (most modern versions) inexcusably substitute “wash your robes” for “obey the Commandments”, unlike the Peshitta and the Majority text versions (the KJV “family”). See Matthew 19:16-19.

Jeremiah 16:19-21 Yehovah is my strength and my place of safety, my refuge in times of trouble. The nations will come to you from the farthest reaches of the earth, and say, “Our ancestors have inherited nothing but lies, nebulous things of no value. 20 Should people make their own gods? Those aren’t gods!” 21 “So I’m going to teach them. For once I’ll make them understand My power and My might, and they’ll learn that My name is Yehovah!”

The End
Lonnie Martin, zech14@proton.me
12/04
New preview, 10/8/22
 

If knowing Elohim’s name is important to you—and it should be—and you want additional proof of what it actually is, then I urge you to read the following article. There is virtually no redundancy between my chapter and this article—just much more proof from a wide assortment of sources: The True Pronunciation of the Sacred Name. I was given this link in October of 2007. Note my standard website disclaimer! I only endorse articles, not websites.

I would also recommend your reading:

The Origin of Languages (pt.4)

The Divine Name in Norway, An interesting site. Had some slight translational errors.

I stumbled across this YouTube presentation of Nehemia Gordon on His name in 2014.

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